NOBLE  LETTER  FROM  GENERAL  ROSECRANS. 


On  Tuesday  last,  in  the  Ohio  Legislature,  a  message 
was  received  from  the  Governor,  enclosing  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  General  Rosecrans : 

Head-Quarters  Dep.  of  the  Cumberland,  \ 
Murfreesboro',  Tenn.,  Feb.  3,  1863.  j 

To  the  Honorable  the  General  Assembly 

of  the  State  of  Ohio: 

The  resolution  of  thanks  passed  by  your  honorable 
body  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  its  Commanding 
General  and  his  staff,  has  been  duly  received,  and  pub- 
lished to  the  troops  of  his  command.  On  behalf  of  all, 
I  return  you  heartfelt  thanks. 

This  is,  indeed,  a  war  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws — nay,  for  national  existence 
— against  those  who  have  despised  our  honest  friend- 
ship, deceived  our  just  hopes,  and  driven  us  to  defend 
our  country  and  our  homes.  By  foul  and  wilful 
slanders  on  our  motives  and  intentions,  persistently 
repeated,  they  have  arrayed  against  us  our  own  fellow- 
citizens,  bound  to  us  by  the  triple  ties  of  consanguinity, 
geographical  position,  and  commercial  interest. 

Let  no  man  among  us  be  base  enough  to  forget  this, 
or  fool  enough  to  trust  an  oligarchy  of  traitors  to  their 
friends,  to  civil  liberty  and  human  freedom.  "Voluntary 
exiles  from  home  and  friends,  for  the  defence,  and 
safety  of  all,  we  long  for  the  time  when  gentle  peace 


2 


shall  again  spread  her  wings  over  our  land:  but  we 
know  no  such  blessing  is  possible  while  the  unjust  and 
arbitral  power  of  the  rebel  leaders  confronts  and 
threatens  us.  Crafty  as  the  fox,  cruel  as  the  tiger,  they 
cried  "  no  coercion,"  while  preparing  to  strike  us.  Bully 
like,  they  proposed  to  fight  us,  because  they  said  they 
could  whip  five  to  one,  and  now,  when  driven  back, 
they  whine  out  "no  invasion,"  and  promise  us  of  the 
West  permission  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  if  we  will 
be  u  good  boys,"  and  do  as  they  bid  us. 

Whenever  they  have  the  power,  they  drive  before 
them  into  their  ranks  the  Southern  people,  and  they 
would  also  drive  us.  Trust  them  not.  Were  they  able, 
they  would  invade  and  destroy  us  without  mercy. 
Absolutely  assured  of  these  things,  I  am  amazed  that 
any  one  could  think  of  "peace  on  any  terms."  He 
who  entertains  the  sentiment  is  fit  only  to  be  a  slave ; 
he  who  utters  it  at  this  time  is,  moreover,  a  traitor  to 
his  country,  who  deserves  the  scorn  and  contempt  of 
all  honorable  men.  When  the  power  of  the  unscrupu- 
lous rebel  leaders  is  removed,  and  the  people  are  free 
to  consider  and  act  for  their  own  interests,  which  are 
common  with  ours,  under  this  Government,  there  will 
be  no  great  difficulty  in  fraternization.  Between  our 
tastes  and  social  life  there  are  fewer  differences  than  be- 
tween those  of  the  people  of  the  Northern  and  Southern 
Provinces  of  England  or  Ireland. 

Hoping  the  time  may  speedily  come,  when,  the  power 
of  the  perfidious  and  cruel  tyrant  of  this  rebellion  having 
been  overthrown,  a  peace  may  be  laid  on  the  broad  foun- 
dation of  national  unity  and  equal  justice  to  all,  under 
the  Constitution  and  Laws,  I  remain  your  fellow-citizen, 


W.  S.  ROSECRANS,  Major- General 


TO  THE  DEMOCRACY  OF  INDIANA. 


The  following  stirring  appeal  has  been  addressed  to 
the  Democracy  of  Indiana  by  their  companions-in-arms 
in  Arkansas : 

Ilaving  a  deep  interest  in  the  future  glory  and  wel- 
fare of  our  country,  and  believing  that  we  occupy  a 
position  in  which  we  can  see  the  effects  of  the  political 
struggles  at  home  upon  the  hopes  and  fears  of  the  rebels, 
we  deem  it  to  be  our  duty  to  speak  to  you  openly  and 
plainly  in  regard  to  the  same. 

The  rebels  of  the  South  are  leaning  on  the  Northern 
Democracy  for  support,  and  it  is  unquestionably  true 
that  unjustifiable  opposition  to  the  Administration  is 
"giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy."  While  it  is 
the  duty  of  patriots  to  oppose  the  usurpation  of  power, 
it  is  alike  their  duty  to  avoid  captious  criticisms,  that 
might  create  the  very  evils  which  they  attempt  to 
avoid. 

The  name  of  DEMOCRAT,  associated  with  all  that  is 
bright  and  glorious  in  the  history  of  the  past,  is  being 
sullied  and  disgraced  by  demagogues,  who  are  appealing 
to  the  lowest  prejudices  and  passions  of  our  people.  We 
have  jiothing  to  expect  from  the  South,  and  nothing  to 
hope,  without  their  conquest.  They  are  now  using  their 
money  freely,  to  subsidize  the  press  and  politicians  of  the 
North,  and  with  what  effect,  the  tone  of  some  of  our  jour- 
nals, and  the  speeches  of  some  of  our  leaders,  too  plainly 
and  painfully  testify. 

We  see  with  deep  solicitude  and  regret  that  there  is 
an  undercurrent  in  Indiana  tending  toward  a  coalition 
of  the  Northwest  with  the  South  against  the  Eastern 


4 


Slates.  Be  not  deceived.  Pause,  for  the  love  you  bear 
to  your  country,  and  reflect.  This  movement  is  only  a 
rebel  scheme  in  disguise,  that  would  involve  you,  alike 
with  themselves,  in  the  crime  of  rebellion,  and  bring  to 
your  own  hearthstones  the  desolation  of  a  French  revo- 
lution. Separation  on  either  side,  ivith  peace  in  the 
future,  is  impossible,  and  we  are  compelled  by  self-in- 
terest, by  every  principle  of  honor,  and  every  impulse 
of  manhood,  to  bring  this  unholy  content  to  a  successful 
termination. 

What!  admit  that  we  are  whipped?  That  twenty- 
three  millions  of  Northern  men  are  unequal  to  nine 
millions  of  the  South  ?  Shame  on  the  State  that  would 
entertain  so  disgraceful  a  proposition  !  Shame  upon 
the  Democrat  who  would  submit  to  it,  aud  raise  his 
cowardly  voice  and  claim  that  he  was  an  Indianiau! 
He,  and  such  dastards,  with  their  offspring,  are  fit  "mud 
sills"  upon  which  should  be  built  the  lordly  structure 
of  their  Southern  aristocracy  I  Aud  with  whom  would 
this  unholy  alliance  be  formed  ?  With  men  who  have 
forgotten  their  fathers,  their  oaths,  their  country,  and 
their  God ;  with  guerillas,  cotton-burners ;  with  those 
who  force  every  male  inhabitant  of  the  South  capable 
of  bearing  arms  into  the  field,  though  starving  wives 
and  babes  are  left  behind  1  Men  who  persecute  and 
hang,  or  drive  from  their  lines,  every  man,  woman  and 
child  who  will  not  fall  down  and  worship  the  Southern 
god.  And  yet  free-born  men  of  our  State  will  sympa- 
thise with  such  tyrants,  and  dare  even  to  dream  of 
coalition !  Indiana's  proud  and  loyal  legions  number 
at  least  seventy  thousand  effective  men  in  the  field,  and? 
as  with  one  great  heart,  we  know  they  would  repudiate 
all  unholy  combinations  tending  to  the  dismemberment 
of  our  Government. 


5 


In  this  dark  hour  of  our  country's  trial,  there  is  but 
one  road  to  success  and  peace,  and  that  is,  TO  BE  as 

FIRMLY  UNITED  FOR  OUR  GOVERNMENT  AS  THE  REBELS 

ARE  against  IT.  Small  differences  of  opinion  amount 
to  nothing  in  this  grand  struggle  for  a  nation's  ex- 
istence. Do  not  place  even  one  straw  in  the  way,  and 
remember  that  every  word  you  speak  to  encourage  the 
South,  nerves  the  arm  and  strikes  the  blow  which  is 
aimed  at  the  heart's  blood  of  our  brothers  and  kindred. 

Alvin  P.  Hovey.  Brig.  General. 

William  T.  Spicely,  Col.  34th  Ind. 

William  E.  McLean,  Col.  43d  Tnd. 

Geo.  F.  McGinnis,  Col.  11th  Tnd. 

James  R.  Slack,  Col.  47th  Ind. 
Helena,  Ark.,  February  2,  1863. 


Action  of  the  Ohio  Regiments  at  Murfreesboro' 
Regarding  the  Copperheads. 

Murfreesboro',  Tenn.,  Friday,  Feb.  13,  1863. 

Last  night  an  earnest  and  enthusiastic  meeting  of 
Ohio  officers  was  held,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  some 
measures  to  show  the  sentiment  that  exists  in  the  army 
with  regard  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  the  adoption 
of  dishonorable  compromises,  and  the  incipient  treason 
which  has  developed  itself  in  the  North.  The  utmost 
unanimity  prevailed,  and  a  Committee  was  appointed 
to  draft  an  address,  to  be  presented  to  all  the  Ohio 
regiments,  for  their  adoption  or  rejection.  The  follow- 
ing persons  constituted  the  Committee: 

Col.  W.  B.  Walker,  Seventy-first, 

Col.  E.  H.  Phelps,  Thirty-eighth, 

Col.  J.  M.  Council,  Seventeenth, 

Lieut.-Col.  F.  W.  Lestee,  Seventeenth  Ohio. 


6 


Col.  Connell,  a  life-long  Democrat,  drew  up  the 
resolutions,  which  were  heartily  endorsed  by  all  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee,  both  Democrats  and  Republi- 
cans. It  has  already  been  presented  to  a  dozen 
regiments,  and  not  a  single  man  has  as  yet  failed  to 
endorse  it. 

The  cheers  with  which  the  address  was  received  by 
the  Ohio  regiments,  this  evening,  would  have  sent  a 
thrill  of  joy  to  the  heart  of  every  loyal  man  in  the 
country. 

The  address  begins  by  ignoring  all  party  politics, 
declaring  only  for  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  It  asks,  with  earnest  emphasis,  why  any  but  a 
traitor  should  desire  the  severance  of  the  Republic,  or 
to  throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  earnest  prosecution 
of  this  war,  whose  sole  object  is  the  preservation  of  the 
Republic  from  those  who,  by  armed  force,  are  seeking 
to  destroy  it  ? 

This  war  must  be  prosecuted,  or  all  it  is  waged  for 
given  up.  All  evils  can  be  remedied  at  the  ballot-box 
save  the  rebellion  of  men  in  arms.  This  can  only  be 
suppressed  BY  bayonets.  Can  compromise  avail?  The 
rebels  disdainfully  fling  back  in  our  faces  all  proposi- 
tions for  compromise,  and  declare  that  nothing  will 
suit  them  but  the  acknowledgement  of  their  bastard 
nationality. 

They  look  upon  their  Northern  friends  as  allies  in 
the  war  which  they  are  prosecuting  against  the  Union, 
and  will  regard  them  in  no  other  light. 

People  of  the  North,  you  must  either  acknowledge 
this  rebellion  to  be  right,  and  that  your  nationality  is 
a  sham,  or  you  must  as  one  man,  sustain  the  war  against 
traitors.  We  intend  to  protect  you,  and  you  must  not 
desert  us.    We  have  suffered  now  too  much  to  be  wil- 


7 


ling  to  agree  to  anything,  save  the  absolute  uncondi- 
tional restoration  of  the  Union,  without  consultation 
with  traitors.  Arms  have  been  invoked  to  destroy  the 
Government — arms  can  only  save  it. 

If  some  miserable  demagogues  amongst  you  must 
vomit  forth  their  treason,  let  them  keep  it  at  home.  We 
want  none  of  their  vile  letters,  speeches,  or  papers  here. 
We  know  for  what  we  engaged  in  an  Abolition  war. 
We  have  sunk  all  party  considerations  in  devoted 
loyalty  to  our  country,  and  whatever  names  unholy 
traitors  may  apply  to  us,  we  will,  by  every  means  that 
Providence  puts  in  our  hands,  sustain  the  Union,  so 
help  us  God. 

The  army  of  the  West  is  in  terrible  earnest.  Earnest  to 
conquer  and  destroy  armed  rebels.  Earnest  to  meet  force 
to  force.  Earnest  in  its  hearty  detestation  of  cowardly 
traitors  at  home.  Earnest  in  will  and  power  to  overcome 
all  who  desire  the  nation's  ruin.  Ohio's  one  hundred 
thousand  soldiers  in  the  field,  citizens  at  home,  'potent  in 
either  capacity,  ash  their  fathers,  brothers  and  friends  by 
their  firesides  and  in  their  peaceful  homes,  to  hear  and  heed 
this  appeal,  and  to  put  an  end  to  covert  treason  at  homej 
more  dangerous  now  to  our  material  existence  than  the 
presence  of  armed  hosts  of  misguided  rebels  at  home. 

Col.  M.  W.  Walker,  of  the  Thirty -first  Ohio,  then 
presented  a  resolution  embodying  the  above  sentiments, 
which,  was  unanimously  adopted.  The  address  and 
resolutions  have  so  far  been  presented  to  about  a  dozen 
Ohio  Regiments  and  adopted  without  a  dissenting 
voice. 


Another  Letter  from  General  Roseerans. 


He  does  not  believe  in  Syren  Songs  of  Peace. 

General  Rosecrans  has  written  the  following  let. 
ter  to  the  Cincinnati  Common  Council: 

IIeap-Quarters,  Dep.  of  the  Cumberland,  ) 

Alurfreesboro\  Tenn.  \ 

Gentlemen  : — I  have  just  received  and  read  the  reso- 
lutions passed  at  your  meeting  on  the  16th  inst.,  com- 
plimenting this  army,  the  Ohio  troops,  and  the  Com- 
manding-General, for  their  bravery  displayed  at  the 
battle  of  Stone's  river.  # 

On  behalf  of  this  noble  array  and  its  gallant  leaders, 
I  accept  this  expression  of  your  sympathy  and  praise, 
with  pride,  and  all  the  more  heartfelt  because  you  are 
my  fellow-citizens,  and  your  words  touch  me  by  their 
tones  of  friendly  sincerity,  while  they  fill  my  thoughts 
with  the  sweet  memories  of  home,  for  the  safety  of 
which,  and  each  of  you,  we,  who  are  far  away,  are  will- 
ing to  lay  down  our  lives. 

May  no  syren  song  of  peace,  founded  on  the  delusive 
hopes  of  honor,  truth,  or  justice,  of  the  rebel  leaders, 
induce  us  to  peril  both  honor  and  the  safety  of  our 
homes.  If  never  permitted  to  enjoy  those  dear  homes 
ourselves,  we  will  at  least  endeavor  to  leave  them  safe 
and  free,  under  the  Constitution  and  laws,  to  our  pos- 
terity. 

I  have  the  honor,  gentlemen,  to  remain,  with  great 

respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  S.  ROSECRANS,  Major- General, 

To  the  Honorable  Mayor  and  Common  Council,  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. 


